Network element architecture for deep packet inspection

A method comprising:

• receiving, at a plurality of ingress line cards, a plurality of traffic flows;
• generating a set of statistics, on the plurality of ingress line cards, based on deep packet inspection of the plurality of traffic flows;
• forwarding the plurality of traffic flows to a plurality of egress line cards;
• continually updating traffic policies in real-time for the plurality of traffic flows by processing the set of statistics with a plurality of policy processors;
• and
• transmitting, at the plurality of egress line cards, the plurality of traffic flows based on the traffic policies.

A network comprising:

• a first network;
• a second network;
• a remote access policy server;
• and
• a network device coupled to the remote access policy server to receive subscriber and application policies and coupled between the first and second, wherein the network device comprises:
• a plurality of line cards, a representative one of which includes, a physical interface;
• a set of one or more network processors coupled to the physical interface to perform deep packet inspection on incoming traffic and to shape outgoing traffic based on policies;
• a plurality of processor cards, a representation are of which includes a plurality of policy generators processors, coupled with the plurality of line cards;
• and
• a full mesh communication infrastructure coupling the plurality of line cards and the plurality of processor cards, wherein each link of the communication infrastructure is of equal capacity.